The Human Experience

Writing is communicating and reading is learning about what others wish to communicate. Communication is the base of all social networking. The most basic communication is non-verbal, but as we grow and mature we learn to use various means of communication. Often, when we refrain from communicating effectively with others, relationships are severed. In general, individuals who are more apt to "say what they mean, and mean what they say" are envied for their ability to put their thoughts and feelings out in the open, while others are more more timid and more protective with their words. Whether or not being more straigh-forward, or being more reserved in a given social situation is more beneficial, depends on the situation, but I often hear people saying they wish they could express themselves better.

If this is still an issue in the adult world, we must look back to our younger years and think about where we were in our progress in the communication struggle. Teenagers and effective communication do not mix; teenagers are sure that they have figured themselves out and are on high defense because adults are always telling them they have no idea what life is really like. Middle school aged students are worse off because adults are still telling them that they have no idea, and, they are old enough to recognize that they should try to defend themselves, but young enough not to know now to.

The more you communicate, the easier it is to handle these issues. Writing is an outlet for many students who are searching for themselves. Writing allows us to get ourself out of our head; reading our own writing gives us the ability to look ourself in the eyes and assess ourself from the outside, looking in.

As we read, we learn how others express themselves and find connections between our own experiences and the rest of humanities experiences. This link, at times, has kept many of us from going off the deep end, including myself. It is sad to think that many children are moving towards seclusion as time goes by without their learning to read.

As a teacher, I think it is important to read to your students so that they may have insight into the human experience, even if they are unable to read themselves. Secondly, I think that making sure you have heard each of your students read, in some form, so that you may assess their reading ability, before the end of the first three weeks of classes is important. The sooner you recognize a student that has a problem, the sooner you can help. I also think that it is important for teachers to remember that it is not solely your responsibility to mend the cracks in individual students' education; there is help out there - use it!